Wednesday, 24 October 2012

Little Vegas Lies - Soul Mate In Disguise EP

EP review by KevW

West-Yorkshire quintet Little Vegas Lies formed in 2010 following a discussion about how modern music had lost its soul, so inspired by great British guitar bands such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Stone Roses and so on they set about putting this right. It's somewhat ironic then, that whatever attributes their music has, soul would be pretty far down on the list. Passion, melody, enthusiasm and subtle beauty, yes, but unlike the luminaries that went before them, Little Vegas Lies are more AOR than rock 'n' roll. This is no criticism by the way, just an observation that their original aim and their end product don't quite match up. Nevertheless, this EP showcases some wonderful, if very polite songwriting and a quartet of accomplished tunes.

They almost hit that rock edge on 'Calls Above The Noise', a song that's saved from slipping into Crowded House territory by virtue of superior songwriting and additional guitars. It's hardy cutting edge stuff but it serves its purpose well and after a few spins begins to grow on you more. 'Lady Dove' is a continuation of traditional British songwriting of the variety crafted by The Kinks, The Las and Noel Gallagher, although it's maybe a little too clean in the production stakes, a fate that also befalls 'Black And White Life. The title-track does find a little of that elusive soul and is a very well written song, although one that's in thrall to its heroes. There's the genesis of a great band in Little Vegas Lies and they can knock out some fine tunes, but with a little more risk taking and a little less sheen they could really start making some headway.